


mothers and daughters

by InsideMyBrain



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Alien Cultural Differences, Alien Culture, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Children, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/F, Family Fluff, Fluff, Found Family, Post-Episode: s06e06 Sacrifice of Angels, Space Wives, Star Trek Secret Santa, Star Trek Secret Santa 2020, Tora Ziyal Lives, gee ziyal! how come the author lets you have FOUR parental figures?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:33:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27878417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsideMyBrain/pseuds/InsideMyBrain
Summary: Nerys and Jadzia couldn't be more overjoyed to hear that Ziyal is coming back to DS9 for a visit - there's someone special they want her to meet.(Written from the prompt, "Kira & Jadzia Dax have a kid")
Relationships: Jadzia Dax/Kira Nerys, Kira Nerys & Tora Ziyal, mentioned Elim Garak & Tora Ziyal, mentioned Jake Sisko/Tora Ziyal
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23
Collections: Star Trek Secret Santa 2020





	mothers and daughters

**Author's Note:**

> this is set vaguely during season 6. let's just pretend it's Kira and jadzia that got married instead of worf and jadzia.
> 
> written for tumblr user @ilikeds9 for Star Trek Secret Santa 2020.

Nerys had never understood the Terran phrase, "to have butterflies in one's stomach". She supposed it might be because of subtle differences between human and Bajoran biology - or perhaps because she associated anticipation with battle - but whenever she was nervous, instead of the jitters in her stomach that Captain Sisko had described to her once, she felt phantom pains in her hands and feet. It was a pulsing ache that travelled up from the tips of her fingers and toes and ended at her ankles and wrists. It made standing in one place for too long highly uncomfortable, and whenever she felt this pain she would shift from foot to foot as if she was standing on hot coals.

She did so now, standing in wait at the airlock. Her hands clasped and unclasped each other behind her back, she shifted her weight back and forth on her feet. She was waiting for a transport carrying Tora Ziyal, whose visit to DS9 was highly awaited - not only by her, she knew, but by Jake and Garak also. The former hoped to officially ask her out on a date, while the latter was looking forward to discussing the latest Cardassian fashions and desperately wanted an update on politics and gossip from his homeworld.

As for Nerys, the reasoning for her anxiety to see Ziyal was twofold: firstly, the message she had sent letting Nerys know she would be coming for a visit was extremely short notice - only two days before her transport left Cardassia - and she was worried that Ziyal might be in some kind of trouble. Secondly, as always when it came to Ziyal, she was concerned about her unstable relationship with Dukat. After the Federation officially re-took DS9, she left for Cardassia with him, and Nerys never got to say goodbye. She knew Ziyal, knew how torn she was between her father and her relationships on the station, and she knew it must not have been an easy decision to go with him. She couldn't help feeling like Ziyal had realized she made a mistake, and was coming to DS9 to stay this time. Although, she couldn't tell if this feeling was pure gut instinct or just wishful thinking.

The airlock slid open with a hiss, and Nerys stilled with the speed and practise of a soldier: every muscle freezing, even as the pain in her limbs screamed at her. It didn't dissipate as people began to flood out of the transport, and only began to subside when she caught a glimpse of Ziyal from behind a large Bolian, grinning and waving at her.

Nerys smiled and waved back. Ziyal sidestepped the Bolian, and ran up to her to give her a hug. "Nerys!" she sighed, her cheek buried in the front of Nerys' uniform. "I'm so glad to see you."

"I'm glad to see you too!" Nerys pulled away and held her shoulders, appraising her. "Is everything all right?" she ran her eye up and down Ziyal's form. She didn't _look_ distressed.

Ziyal cocked her head. "Of course, why wouldn't it be?"

Nerys rubbed her shoulders. "Your message about coming to the station seemed kind of last minute," she said. "I was a little worried, that's all."

"Oh, that," said Ziyal. "It just took me a while to arrange transport here, so I wasn't sure I'd be coming until last minute. I had to catch a ride on a freighter, then transfer to this passenger ship about halfway here. Civilians on Cardassia aren't really allowed to enter enemy territory during war - for good reason, probably. But I made it!" She beamed. "I couldn't have arranged it without my father's help."

Nerys rubbed her shoulders once more, then dropped her hands to her sides. "Well, I'm just glad you got here safely. You must be hungry - come on, let's head to our quarters for dinner."

"I _am_ starving," Ziyal admitted, adjusting her duffel bag on her shoulder, then fell into step beside Nerys as she turned down the corridor. "So, how has everything been with you?"

"As good as it can be," Nerys replied, "though, there is one bright spot lately - we have a little bundle of joy at home now."

A slow smile dawned on Ziyal's face. "You two had a baby!" she exclaimed, delighted. "Congratulations! How did it happen? In vitro? Adoption?"

Nerys chortled. "It's actually an interesting story - we weren't planning on being parents just yet, but I suppose the Prophets decided we were ready." They stepped into the turbolift. "Habitat ring." The turbolift whirred softly as it moved downward. "After the Federation got here and everyone was done celebrating, Dr. Bashir went up to the Infirmary to assess the damage the Dominion had done in his absence. He found a half-Bajoran, half-Cardassian baby abandoned on a bio-bed. He thinks her mother, maybe the wife of a Cardassian soldier, abandoned her there when the Dominion left." 

"And you took her in." Ziyal's voice was soft. 

"The Captain was all too happy to take care of her for a while, but she needed a permanent home," Nerys explained. "If no one on the station was going to adopt her, it was an orphanage on Bajor. But I have wanted children for a while now, and you know Jadzia - there's nothing in life she hasn't experienced already through one of her previous hosts, including raising children. She was all for it if I was."

The turbolift doors swished open, and the two stepped out. "That's amazing," Ziyal said.

"Yes," Nerys admitted, dropping her head and smiling at her boots as they walked. "It really is. We all got lucky - Jadzia and I, and Terish."

Ziyal blinked in surprise. "That's a Cardassian name."

Nerys nodded at her. "It was embroidered on the bib of her onesie. Whoever her parents were, they obviously cared enough to name her."

"I guess they weren't planning on leaving her." Ziyal frowned. 

"I suppose not. But people make all kinds of rash decisions when they're under that kind of pressure." Nerys sneaked a sidelong glance at Ziyal.

"Indeed," was all she said in response.

They reached Nerys and Jadzia's quarters soon after, and they stepped inside after Nerys scanned her thumbprint. Their quarters were characteristically clean, except for the living room area, where a number of toys were strewn about. In the middle of the carnage was the child herself, babbling happily and sitting in an exersaucer. Nerys made a beeline for her, picking her up and putting her on her shoulder.

"Oh, yes, hello my dear!" she cooed. "Mama Nerys is here."

"What, no 'honey, I'm home'?" Jadzia asked jokingly, entering the room carrying a salad bowl. She put it down on the dining room table and kissed Nerys briefly. 

"My mistake," Nerys replied, smiling softly. 

"Ziyal, it's so good to see you again!" Jadzia crossed the room to give her a hug. 

"Likewise." Ziyal bounced a little on the balls of her feet after pulling away from the embrace. "Congratulations, as well. Nerys told me it wasn't exactly the usual method of adoption."

"That's for sure." Jadzia and Ziyal watched as Nerys bounced the baby on her hip. "I've raised nine children, two of them adopted, but never a non-Trill, and certainly never one that just fell into my lap." The edges of her lips quirked up. "But I wouldn't have it any other way."

Nerys smiled back at her, and, as often happened in the presence of her and Jadzia, Ziyal felt like an intruder on a private, unspoken conversation. The spell was broken when Terish hiccuped and began to cry. 

"Oh yes, I know," Nerys said sympathetically, rubbing her back. "You're hungry too. Let's eat."

The three of them sat at the dinner table, Nerys putting Terish in her high chair before sitting herself. Jadzia passed around the salad - a mix of yellow Grakizh leaves and Terran garden vegetables - and Nerys put down a plate of small vegetables in front of Terish, who immediately pounced on them. Ziyal helped herself, smiling as she watched Terish squeeze a cherry tomato in her little fist and laugh when the juices exploded all over her. 

"So, tell us everything you've been up to since we last saw you," Jadzia prompted. "You left so suddenly, we thought we might never see you again!"

"Yes, well, that day was very chaotic," Ziyal said sheepishly. "And I _was_ going to say goodbye to you all - but Damar found out that I betrayed the Dominion, and he tried to kill me, so my father and I decided we needed to leave as quickly as possible."

"Of course," Nerys said. "Is it safe for you to be on Cardassia now, though?"

Ziyal shrugged a little. "My father has been disgraced in the government, but he still has some connections. He made sure Damar wouldn't tell a soul about what I'd done back on the station. I- I don't know how, though," she said quickly, when she noticed Nerys' jaw beginning to set. 

"What about your school?" asked Jadzia. "Did you see about finishing your degree at the Bajoran university?"

"It took a while, but I was able to transfer the credits to the Cardassian Institute of Art and Design," she explained. "I think the fact that they had previously showcased some of my work helped." 

"Oh, that's great." Nerys speared the last few leaves in her bowl. "How are you liking the Cardassian school as opposed to the Bajoran university?"

Ziyal pushed some salad around. "There's a lot more graduation requirements at the Institute, and a lot less funding." She smiled sardonically. "Good design is really important to Cardassians - we need great architects for grand state buildings - but traditional art isn't as valued as it was on Bajor." She ate a cucumber slice, pursing her lips thoughtfully. "It has its advantages, though - it means my professors, classmates and I sometimes have to get very creative."

"Oh? How so?" Jadzia stacked her empty bowl on top of Nerys' and brought them to the replicator. 

Ziyal's eyes seemed to light up and she leaned forward in her seat immediately. "Well, last week I submitted a sculpting assignment based around the theme of home. The medium was supposed to be clay, but with not a lot to go around, we each only had a small portion to work with. I decided to use this to my advantage, and incorporate some metal ship parts - with them I made the shell of a Cardassian freighter, and with the clay I made it look like the outside was melting off it. Hm? Oh, yes, I'm done. Thank you," she said to Jadzia, who took her bowl and put it in the replicator. 

"Wasn't that breaking the rules of the assignment?" Nerys asked. 

She smirked. "It was, but my professor said he'd give me a pass this time."

Jadzia chuckled, placing the main course, Ratamba stew, on the table and passing out clean dishes. Nerys filled her plate and reached for the spice at once. "Well, it sounds like you're in a good place there," Jadzia said, sitting back down. 

Ziyal blew on a spoonful of stew to cool it, then ate it cautiously. "I just hope it lasts."

After that, the conversation drifted to other channels - Ziyal's plans for the rest of her stay on DS9, a Bajoran novel she had recently read and was recommending, how tired Nerys and Jadzia were lately trying to get Terish to sleep through the night - and the evening passed peacefully. Nerys thought, not for the first time, about the remarkable humanoid ability to create moments of joy in the darkest times, and thanked the Prophets that her loved ones were able to share in these moments with her. She caught Ziyal's eye when they were giggling at Jadzia smearing whipped cream on her face during dessert to entertain Terish, and felt a bittersweet pang, knowing that this time with her was limited.

When the evening had wrapped up, after dessert and red-leaf tea, after they'd been trading funny stories over a few glasses of springwine for a little too long, Nerys hugged Ziyal tight before she left for her guest quarters. "You have a good night, now," she said, "and come by again anytime while you're here."

"Of course."

Nerys let go of the hug and then took Ziyal's hands. "Also, while you're here, would you do me a favour?"

Ziyal nodded. "Anything."

"Would you consider, after you've completed your studies, coming back to stay on Deep Space 9 for a while?" She looked into her eyes hopefully.

"I-"

"I'm not trying to make you make a decision," Nerys amended hastily. "It's your life, of course. But we would love it if you were here for longer." Jadzia nodded her agreement in the background. "And I know other people would, too."

Ziyal smiled apologetically. "Alright, I'll think about it. Maybe after the war." 

Nerys squeezed her hands. "Maybe."

* * *

Later, Nerys sighed in frustration, lying on the couch. Jadzia paced the room slowly, holding a quickly-falling-asleep Terish on her shoulder. 

"I just hate the thought of her going back to him," she sighed, throwing a hand over her eyes.

Jadzia sat beside her wife, and laid a hand in her hair. "You can't save everyone, Nerys." 

Nerys sat up and leaned on Jadzia, rubbing their daughter's back. "Oh, I know." Little Terish's back rose and fell with each deep breath. "I know."


End file.
